


China Rose

by Caedmon



Series: Advent [8]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Office Party, Secret Santa, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-07 07:52:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8789683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caedmon/pseuds/Caedmon
Summary: She’s distracted him for months - her smile is intoxicating and he wants more. The office Christmas party affords him the opportunity to see that smile directed towards him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written with Twelve in mind, but could just as easily be Nine. 
> 
> Day eight of ['Advent'.](http://archiveofourown.org/series/596995)

He had no idea what had possessed him. 

Well, that was a lie. He knew exactly had possessed him, it was the same thing that possessed him every time he saw it. He was a powerful man, but Rose Tyler’s smile was his weakness, and he wanted to see it all the time. Preferably directed at him. 

That wasn’t possible, though. She was laughably out of his league. Rose was young and beautiful; a bright spot in everyone’s day. He, meanwhile, was - well, he was _not_. He was old, crotchety, bad-tempered, and had earned the nickname he knew was bandied around behind his back: _the Oncoming Storm_. 

When his assistant, Clara, had approached him with the idea of a staff Christmas lunch and gift exchange, he’d waved his hand dismissively. Sure. Whatever. At least he wouldn’t have to deal with assprints on the fucking copier this way. And it would be easy for him to make himself scarce. Brilliant.

When he’d heard that the gift exchange would be a Secret Santa and that Clara was organizing it, he was a bit more interested. Not that he’d actually put his name in a hat for something so inane, of course. He’d already be receiving a plethora of stupid gifts he never asked for: boxes of candy, coffee blends, asinine shit like that. No, ta, he wouldn’t be signing up to get more. Utterly fucking ridiculous, that. 

But if _Rose_ would be participating...well, that would make things a bit different. He’d be able to do something to make Rose Tyler smile, even if she’d never know it was him. _He_ would know, and that would be more than enough. That smile might not be directed at him, but it would be _for_ him. 

Close enough. He’d take it.

When Clara had left the large bucket on the corner of her desk for everyone to drop their names with a short list of things they liked on the edge of her desk, he’d smirked. When she’d gone to lunch and left the bucket unguarded, he’d made his move. 

As surreptitiously as possible, he’d gone to the bucket and fished around until he had what he wanted. 

_Name: Rose Tyler_  
_Likes: I like coffee, chocolate covered cherries, comfy socks, scented lotion (no vanilla, please) and reading._

She sounded even more like the perfect woman than she had before. He detested vanilla and loved to read. He’d suspected, of course, that she was the epitome of what an ideal woman should be, but now he _knew_. 

Over the next week, he did his absolute best to hang around outside his office as much as possible... loitering around the bullpen of cubicles, making up bullshit excuses to be there, and trying to look busy. After a few days of this, his employees had relaxed a bit and went back to the unprofessional little habits that would have earned them a reprimand if he hadn’t had an ulterior motive. 

Finally, just as he was about to give up, he got the information he’d been angling for. 

“Of course, it’ll never happen,” Rose was saying from the other side of the cubicle wall. He waited. “I’ll never find it, and I’d never be able to afford it if I did.”

“And it’s just the butter dish you need?” came another female voice.

“Yeah, and the creamer bowl. It was my grandmother’s set, but I broke the creamer bowl when I was little and the butter dish is just...gone. I mean...it's fine like it is, and I know I'm being stupid. Greedy, maybe. But it would...it would just be nice to be able to have it complete. All together. The way it's meant to be. You know?”

“What’d it look like?”

“Oh, it was nothing special, I don’t suppose, even if it's a touch hard to find.” Rose sounded...wistful. Sad. That would never do. “The pattern is white with pink and yellow flowers on it. It’s called ‘old country roses’. Not very original, eh?”

The two women laughed. He jotted notes on his palm in an unreadable shorthand in case he was stopped along the way. Then he turned on his heel and marched back to his office.

~*~O~*~

He’d originally planned to be anywhere but at the office during the Christmas party, but the memory of Rose Tyler’s smile and the knowledge that she may be wearing it today because of him was too big of a lure.

Everyone in the office was visibly shocked when he put in his appearance, piling his plate with sub-par nibbles he’d apparently paid for and doing his damndest to seem pleasant and festive by making small talk with his subordinates. He even managed to join in a conversation that Rose was a part of, though she seemed shy with him around. The knowledge frustrated him greatly. He hoped that wouldn’t always be the case.

After an interminable amount of time, the gift exchange was announced. Clara shot him a worried look, saying that she was concerned because he’d be left out, but he plastered a smile on and assured her, honestly, that he had more than enough gifts on his desk and for her not to worry about it. He did elect, though, not to join the circle of chairs that had formed, opting instead to lean against a partition across from Rose and watch the annual exchange go down. 

The gifts exchanged were the typical idiotic bullshit of the same type he was sure was resting on his desk: boxes of chocolates, mugs full of powdered hot cocoa mix, calendars, etc. There was the occasional thoughtful gift: a pair of movie tickets, a picture frame to Amy (who had recently married), but on the whole, it was stupid shit. Typical. Predictable.

Then Rose’s bag was handed to her. He stiffened, his back going ramrod straight while he did his best to look unaffected. Rose raised and lowered the bag into her hand a couple of times and beamed, remarking on the weight. His heart pounded wildly in his ears.

Setting the gift in her lap, she pulled out the tissue paper and exclaimed, laughing. “Chocolate covered cherries!” A few of the people in the group laughed with her - simply because Rose’s laugh was contagious - and she opened the box and popped one into her mouth, closing her eyes in bliss when she bit down. 

He clenched his fists at his sides, but made no other move. 

She reached into the bag again.

“What’s this? Looks like two boxes...” She pulled one out and popped the little strip of tape that held it closed. When it opened, she gasped. 

“What is it?” Amy asked. 

“It’s the butter dish! The one I was telling you about! Oh, Amy, you shouldn’t have!” She threw her arms around her friend’s neck and squeezed.

“I didn’t!” a puzzled Amy protested, patting Rose on the back until she sat up. “Rory was my Secret Santa recipient.”

Rose cast a confused look at her, then at Rory who confirmed with a nod. 

Rory sat right in front of him. He sent up a quick prayer that Rose wouldn’t look up at him, away from Rory. He didn’t think he was that good an actor.

“What else is in it?” Amy asked, peering over the edge of the bag. “You said there were two boxes.”

Rose lay the butter dish box carefully in her lap, then reached in for the other box. Popping the tape on that one with a guarded look, she melted into tears when she saw what was inside. 

“It’s the creamer bowl! The set is complete now," she cried happily, her eyes streaming. She reached up to wipe one eye idly, still smiling. "Oh, I love it so much!”

Amy leaned to the side and threw one arm around her, giving her a hug while Rose sniffled. Then she looked up. “Which one of you did this? I can’t - which of you was it?” 

Everyone, including him, shrugged, and she looked a bit exasperated, but happy.

“Thank you so much, whoever you are. This means...this means the world to me, and I love you for it.”

She was mopping her eyes but her smile was bright - the biggest he’d ever seen on her - and his heart stopped at her words. Maybe he should -

 _No._ She was happy, and that was all he had wanted. All he _did_ want. And he was...yes. Looking at her smile, he was happy, too. 

He hung around for the rest of the gift exchange for appearance’s sake, then slipped off and made his way back to his desk as soon as he was able. 

It had gone better than he’d expected, he reflected as he left. She’d been truly delighted, and he rejoiced in the knowledge that he’d made her day. He’d made Rose Tyler smile. He’d done it. He felt like a hero, and allowed himself a large, genuine smile.

Then he sat down to his computer and started clacking the keys. Wonder when Rose Tyler’s birthday was?


End file.
